[SteveM324]

This morning I've been listening to my new portable amps, the SR71 and the Supermacro (w/OPA 627, 2xbuffers,4 switches and latest volume pot). I have the Grace 901 for non-portable use. I purchased both portable amps about a month ago and I've decided to keep both of them.

Well I've been rotating my HD650 w/Zu, CD3K's, and Ety 4P/S through these 2 amps. I've concluded that there are only small differences between these 2 amps with most of my headphones. I then decided to break out my K340's. As anyone whose owned the 340's know, it takes a lot of power to drive them. SR71 was ok but it ran out of gain on a lot of music. The Supermacro was better but it too ran out of gain on some of my music. Then I decided to flip the gain switch on the Supermacro. WOW! Not only did it provide more volume but it gained added richness, warmth, deep tight bass and the soundstage opened up substantially. This little amp really cooks! The K340's now easily bettered my CD3K's and challenges my HD650's for my favorite can. It betters the 650 w/Zu in the vocals and transient speed and impact. I'm not sure which is my favorite now

. I know that some +$1000 amps drive the 340's well like the Prehead and RKVmkII but this little $350 amp does an outstanding job too. If you own the K340 and you are searching for a relatively inexpensive amp to drive them, I highly recommend the Supermacro w/OPA627, 2xbuffer and switches. Just remember to flip that gain switch. I really love my old K340's now.

 

[aerius]

Yup, they're something special. I first heard them a couple months ago when I invited a head-fi member over to test them out on my amp. Easily my favourite headphone, despite being 20 years old it was still miles ahead of my Senn 580 and Grado 225. I bought a pair on ebay last night and I'm hoping to pick it up later today. I can't wait.

 

[SteveM324]

Yeah they really are great sounding cans. Quite honestly, I've owned them for over 10 years and I've never heard them sound as good as they sound today. If AKG has any spies on this website, they would be smart to bring the 340's back into production. Today, there are more headphone amps that can drive them well compared to when they were in production. But I really don't care, I'm just happy I have mine and they are like brand new. I hope you enjoy your new phones.

 

[philodox]

Nice story Steve.

Did you try the K340's with the Grace? I did at the Chicago meet and it did not do them justice at all. I agree with your findings with the SR71 though. It just ran out of juice right when it was starting to get good.

Rays amps are a pretty good match for them though, so a high gain SR71 might be a good pairing.

I am still waiting for my Dynahi to come in and listening to them on my AOS Flute for now. They sound lovely, but I need to be in a quiet environment and they dont really get as loud as I'd like.

aerius - Hope you luck out and get those today.

When I get my Dynahi we will have to have another mini-meet. Or maybe we can convince Tom to host another TO meet.

 

[SteveM324]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Nice story Steve. Did you try the K340's with the Grace? I did at the Chicago meet and it did not do them justice at all. I agree with your findings with the SR71 though. It just ran out of juice right when it was starting to get good. Rays amps are a pretty good match for them though, so a high gain SR71 might be a good pairing. I am still waiting for my Dynahi to come in and listening to them on my AOS Flute for now. They sound lovely, but I need to be in a quiet environment and they dont really get as loud as I'd like. aerius - Hope you luck out and get those today. When I get my Dynahi we will have to have another mini-meet. Or maybe we can convince Tom to host another TO meet.

philodox,
Yes I've tried them on the Grace with not so good results. I have to agree with your findings. With the gain switch engaged on the Grace 901, it easily drives the 340's but the sound quality doesn't grab me. It sounded kinda sterile. On the other hand, I was shocked this morning by how good the Supermacro with the gain switch turned on drives the 340's. The Grace 901 sounds lean compared to the Supermacro. I really like the Grace on my 650's but I have to admit that it gets blown away by the little SM on the 340's. The SM sounds way better than it has a right to on this very hard to drive can.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveM324 With the gain switch engaged on the Grace 901, it easily drives the 340's but the sound quality doesn't grab me. It sounded kinda sterile.

That is exactly what I heard. In the Grace's defense though there are very few amps that drive the K340's well. The Grommes amp at the Chicago meet, while impressive looking, could not get the K340's to a respectable volume without severe distortion. Sounded great with Grado's though...

 

[joelongwood]

I'm glad you're enjoying your K340s, Steve. I've had mine for about 7 years or so. At 400 ohms, they take a bit of juice to get going, but man, with the right amp they can really sing. In a head-to-head with the K501s, which is famed for its midrange, the midrange of the K340s is so much richer and full-bodied, with a greater depth. To my ears, of course.

 

[aerius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox aerius - Hope you luck out and get those today. When I get my Dynahi we will have to have another mini-meet. Or maybe we can convince Tom to host another TO meet.

I already have the replacement cables built and ready to hook up...and still no word from the dude. I even (ab)used my Customs database access to look the guy up and call him...and he ain't home. He's only 20 minutes away from me, god, I'm losing my mind...

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aerius I already have the replacement cables built and ready to hook up...and still no word from the dude. I even (ab)used my Customs database access to look the guy up and call him...and he ain't home. He's only 20 minutes away from me, god, I'm losing my mind...

That must be hell waiting like that.

Maybe he's gone somewhere for easter weekend? Lets hope that he gets back to you soon. At least you know that you have an amp that is capable of driving them well at home... I'm still waiting for my Dynahi.

 

[SteveM324]

I have to say that I was wrong about the K340's sounding lean driven by the Grace 901. I think I made that judgement based on listening to my HD650's driven by the 901 and then immediately switching to the 340's. I think just about any phone would sound lean after the 650's. I made the mistake of not re-aquainting myself to the signature of the 340's before judging its pairing to the Grace.
Tonight, after a weekend of listening to my 340's driven by my Supermacro with its gain switch engaged, I went back to the Grace 901. Well it didn't sound lean at all. I think I'm getting used to the clean and not so warm and laid back sound of the 340's relative to the 650's. With the 901, the bass is tighter and the soundstage is larger than when driven by the SM. The vocals are clear and the instrument separation is clear and well defined. All in all, I'm very happy now with the 340's driven by either the Grace or the Supermacro (but more so by the Grace).

 

[philodox]

Hmmm, strange that the Grace just seemed to flop when I heard it at the Chicago meet. I think the one I heard at the chicago meet may have been the newer 902 though, not quite sure.